Living in the Trees—Speaking to the Times

Living in the Trees is postponed to Sunday, September 9, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Call 410.634.2847, ext. 0 with questions.

Join a special program in which music and art cast a spell on one of the last evenings of summer. The Pam Ortiz Band will set the scene with thought-provoking songs that probe the bittersweet richness of life in our times. As the dusk fades into night, take a walk into the forest to see Night Walk, photographer Penny Harris’s images of human figures magically projected onto the trees. As if the spirits of the trees themselves have become visible, Harris’s figures hauntingly evoke the primal link between trees and human life. After a walk through the woods, lit by luminaries and flashlights, return to the Visitor’s Center for more music. Light fare will be served throughout the evening. A cash wine and beer bar will be available, and coffee and dessert will end the night on a sweet note.

Contemporary songwriter Pam Ortiz has a clear voice and a rare gift for lyrics that touch deeply. Playing acoustic guitar as she sings, she is joined by her husband, Bob Ortiz, on percussion, Ford Schumann on guitar, and Nevin Dawson on viola and violin. Based in Chestertown, the band will release a new album in September. This follows three albums showcasing Ortiz’s songs with Terra Nova, a group that played to packed coffeehouses in the Baltimore-Washington area throughout the ’90s and was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for Bill Clinton’s first inauguration.

A native of Baltimore, Penny Harris photographs landscapes and people around the world. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in museum and university collections around the country. While she has created stage sets and done curatorial work involving theater, music, and poetry, this is her first installation using light in the outdoor environment. Seeming almost to emerge from within the tall trees of the Arboretum’s forest, the ghostly glowing figures in Night Walk blur the relationship between humans and nature as they challenge us to consider our times and our place in nature.